Color Me Happy (or not)

Here is a photo of 1/2 of the English post-punk band Wire in a spread for Mojo. I don't know why they took this grayed-out photo with terrible contrast and re-colored it with green, cyan, and magenta. Remember in the 1980s when there was that mercifully brief movement to colorize old black and white films? They always looked terrible, and that's what this reminds me of.

Now HERE is a photo of Siouxsie Sioux (another English contemporary of Wire) taken by Lynn Goldsmith in 1980. I love everything about this image, especially the repetition of hues. It was sheer luck that Goldsmith asked for the whole band, but only got Siouxsie: otherwise, we wouldn't have these RGB spectrum metal folding chairs to compliment and accent the subject's clothing, hair, and makeup. Nice!

It's Raining Cats, Hallelujah!: fun with color and the lasso tool

I enjoyed our last 501 assignment so much, I figured it might be fun to share how I went about doing it. Most of you will have already figured out your own ways of achieving similar results, but here's how I turned my friend's and my heads into landing pads for flying cats.

Step 1: Collect your images

Alas, I am not responsible for catasus (or pegacat, if you prefer), although I wish I could claim ownership over such impressive blending capabilities. In a perfect world, you will actually have the rights to all the photos you're working with. In this case, I did not actually take any of these pictures, and I only had the rights to the photo of myself and my bandmate, Andriana.

 

Step 2: Recolor 

This is important. Even if you're making the most ridiculous composite image imaginable, it will look more believable if everything is at the same temperature, vibrance, and saturation levels. Also, I think it's better to adjust each image individually rather than adjust the flattened composite--you have more control this way. Here are some before and after shots.

 

Step 3: Resize

An easy way to do this is keep a preview window open of you background image while you experiment in photoshop with different sizes for the images you're going to layer on top.

Step 4: Select

Although the quick selection tool is great, you have much more control with the lasso tool. It does require a steady hand, though, so make sure you have enough elbow room to move around wherever you need to! It's definitely a more painstaking process, but it does yield better results.

Step 5: Place

The combination of resizing objects and placing them in the right way can add depth to the composite. In this case, I made the flying kitten really small and put him in the upper right-hand corner so he looked like he was soaring in from farther away. 

  

Step 6: Text

When you know you'll be adding text to an image, it's always a good idea to find a space to put it that's mostly one hue. Use the eyedropper tool and find a color elsewhere in the image that's complimentary to the background. In this case, I used the yellowish hue from Andriana's face because I knew it would stand out against the bright blue sky. If possible and apprpriate, write an amusing caption.

Step 7: Crack up in the lab at the results of your handiwork

Step 8: Send it to everyone you know in an e-mail OR

Step 9: Make it your facebook avatar

Foldy-things

One time, I told a work colleague of mine that I had shopped at Ann Taylor Loft. At this he quipped, “Oh yeah? Did you see my mom there?” And I replied, “Bite me.”

So, this is Loft’s most recent mailer.  They have recently dropped “Ann Taylor” from their name, presumably to combat the stereotype—previously illustrated—that they cater only to middle-aged frumps in pantsuits.

I like the layout here because the whole front panel is taken up by a single image, unsullied by postage and address info.  It’s very simple (with half as many panels as we will be working with), and the color palette is real purdy. I used it this weekend and purchased a very nice, very YOUTHFUL pair of black corduroys, thank you very much.

 

I love the lasso tool . . . and flying cats also.

Sane or Not?

Just found this on the John Stewart Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear website. Is someone in our class responsible? Come on, you know one of you totally is....

A Very Long Layout

This layout came from a 2002 issue of National Geographic Traveler. The article, also the cover story, is devoted to the island of Bali in Indonesia, a colorful Hindu dot in a sea of other islands that comprise the region. Excepting the fact that I love Balinese culture and it's at the top of my list of places I want to travel, I also think it's a really well put together visual piece. All of the photographs are very large, and many spread across both pages. There is a chromatic unity to the piece, with green, orange, and red providing a nice split-complimentary palette, and I like the enormous burnt orange drop-cap letters that designate the various sections of the piece. The photographs are at once intimate, candid, and sublime. I don't know about you, but I want to go!!!

Indesign and 502

Other than some very rudimentary (and very auto-didactic) experiences with older versions of PhotoShop, this stint with InDesign was my very first introduction to any of the creative suite software. I felt immediately in over my head and overwhelmed with the complexities of the program. I do feel like it came together for me a little bit towards the end, however, and whatever knowledge I have managed to retain will probably inform the travel layout project a great deal. InDesign tools aid me in manipulating how text and images interact with each other in ways more precise than I've ever imagined possible.